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11:50 am
August 31, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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What do you guys use for fly control? All of a sudden there are just swarms of them at the chicken coop and compost pile. I don't really like to use a ton of chemicals if possible, since we have outside cats that help with mice control out there.
Would a glass jar with a piece of fruit work? Should I put some bacon grease near the opening so they can't get out? (I think that may work for mice, not sure). Fly paper works for about a day and then gets tangled by the wind or dried out in the sun.
Thanks in advance!
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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12:26 pm
August 31, 2009
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Shells
| | Vancouver Island, British Columbia | |
| Superstar | posts 1184 | |
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Whats attracting them to the compost pile?? I don't put anything but organic matter in mine .. so no meat, nothing with oils on it ….. and the flys aren't attracted to it. Same with the mice ….
I would think that to end the flys altogether you would have to remove what is attracting them. JMHO
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12:43 pm
August 31, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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Well that would probably be the manure. What am i doing wrong? I don't think it is decomposing very fast either. should I add more dirt?
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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12:58 pm
August 31, 2009
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Shells
| | Vancouver Island, British Columbia | |
| Superstar | posts 1184 | |
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Do you have enough browns in your compost pile? Browns would be dry leaves, straw, woody materials?? The greens would be your manure, kitchen wastes, grass clippings ..
You may have too many greens for it to generate the heat it needs. My understanding is that a well mixed compost pile/bin will generate enough heat that the fly maggots will not survive and that will take care of your fly issue. My guide also says to bury food scraps into the pile where the flies are not attracted to them.
My composter book says that if your pile is attracting rats then leave out meat scraps, fats and cooking oils and recommends putting cayenne pepper around the base of your compost pile/bin to discourage them.
Everyone has thier own ideas on composting those are just a few guidelines that I follow for mine.
Oh, and FYI, you aren't doing anything wrong …. it will compost over time without any intervention.
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2:07 pm
August 31, 2009
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52
| | Stringtown, WV | |
| Mighty Chicken | posts 391 | |
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As usual, I'm no expert, but you might try putting some agricultural lime on the coop floor and the compost pile. It's natural and won't hurt anyone. It's the kind of lime you put on a garden to fix the PH. Just sprinkle it around with a jar with holes punched in the lid.
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2:13 pm
August 31, 2009
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monica
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| Mighty Chicken | posts 494 | |
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I have tried lime , but as soon as it rains or I add more poo to the pile, they come back. I am getting a pretty big pile. I do not put meat or fats in–ever. I do put the shells from the eggs in, but the flies don't seem interested. They like the poo, fruits and vegetable scraps and avoid much of the rest. There is straw, leaves and grass clippings
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My budget plan is NOT getting a cart when I go to the store.
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2:19 pm
August 31, 2009
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Shells
| | Vancouver Island, British Columbia | |
| Superstar | posts 1184 | |
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Maybe turning it would help, getting a pitchfork into it and mixing it up … just a thought
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12:08 pm
April 5, 2010
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mamawolf
| | Colorado Springs | |
| Mighty Chicken | posts 456 | |
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This is a little delayed but I hope it is helpful. Received a e-mail yesterday about using small ziplock bags with a little water and a few pennies which were tacked up in areas where flies were a problem. Appears that this repels them and they stay away. Sounded a little strange so checked it out on Snopes – snopes.com/critters/wild/flies. It is inexpensive to try. Who knows it may keep them away and if not, well………
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Learn from the mistakes of others. Trust me…..you can't live long enough to make them all yourself!
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12:38 pm
April 5, 2010
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wkf
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| Big Chicken | posts 47 | |
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I have heard of the ziploc thing too. I have friends who swear by it. They don't put pennies in theirs.
I use fly predators. I have had good experiences with them. The success rate depends on if you have neighbors with livestock though. If they aren't managing their fly population you'll get fly bys….
They aren't cheap, but I had less flies than I did feeding a fly control. I also wanted to use my manure in compost and I didn't care for the chemical aftermath.
Here is a link http://www.spalding-labs.com/ there are other companies that sell them. thes guys seem to be the least expensive for the # of insects you get.
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